Mary Mendonca married to a Sylva 1st from Hawaii

Re: Mary Mendonca married to a Sylva 1st from Hawaii

This is not entirely correct. Mary Anehe Sylva was married only once. She and Joseph P Mendonca had five children: Joseph Sylva, Francis Kaaha Sylva, Edward Sylva, Rose Sylva and Alyce Sylva Ackerman. Francis was my grandfather. When he and my grandmother, Martha Cochrane were to be married, Martha's parents insisted that Joseph and Mary marry. Until then, they were unmarried. My great-grandmother, Mary, we called her "Tutu" was 91 when she died. I was 21. She was from Haleiwa, and we believe she was "hanai'd" - adopted - by the Sylva family, therein taking their name. Her children were all named Sylva because they were all born prior to her marrying Joseph P. Mendonca. My grandfather, Francis, was 96 when he died and he was mentally and physically in very good shape until the night he suddenly fell and died. He was a dental surgeon, a territorial senator, head of the local CAA and finally head of the Mendonca (family) estate. Joseph P. Mendonca was from the Azores. He "jumped ship" in Honolulu and became a very successful local businessman and landowner. He was married to a Hawaiian whose last name was Helenii, or Helanii - not sure of the spelling. There is a building in downtown Honolulu on Hotel Street with his name on it. And he owned a large part of Chinatown. I have never heard that he fought to get rid of the monarchy, and that is very likely untrue. The reason I say that is that Tutu was a friend of the queen, and a "member of her court". When the queen was locked in Iolani Palace, during the takeover of the monarchy, my great-grandmother, Tutu, and her very dear friend, Jenny Wilson, visited her, bringing her flowers wrapped up in newspapers. (They were actually sneaking in the newspapers so she could read the news of the day - as she was prohibited from receiving the daily news.) I knew Aunt Jenny well, along with many of Tutu's friends, including Lurline Roth, who was from the Matson line family. One of the Matson ships was named after her.I hope whoever you are, Renee, that you will get in touch with me. My cousin, Marily Sylva and I have been working on our heritage for a couple of years. jswaloha@yahoo.com